What some cities in China may look like:[img.timeinc.net image 611x404]Those stacks of backs are e-waste sitting in the streets of Guiyu, lining the streets. That man is carrying phone casings on two tricycles to be re-used.

JohnCarter:Article did not define the criteria, and these BEST of and WORST of rarely do. If you actually read the questions one can see why a city is first or last

It's definitely subjective - my idea of a good place to live may be wildly different from someone else.

But the main reason US cities rate so low is because of violent crime, which despite the fact that it is lower than it has been for decades it is still much higher than in most other western countries.

One thing known to drive violent crime is poverty and one thing known to drive poverty in an otherwise wealthy nation is unequal opportunity - perhaps due to racial / ethnic discrimination.